Sunday, February 22, 2009

Snubbed at Oscars, Let the Right One In Racks Up Another Prize

The Dublin Film Critics Circle has selected Tomas Alfredson's Let the Right One In as Best Film at the Dublin International Film Festival. It's become a familiar refrain:

Best Foreign Language Film:

Boston Society of Film Critics

Broadcast Film Critics Association

Calgary International Film Festival

Chicago Film Critics Association

Florida Film Critics Circle

Kansas City Film Critics Circle

Online Film Critics Society

Phoenix Film Critics Circle

San Diego Film Critics Society

San Francisco Film Critics Circle

Satellite Awards

Southeastern Film Critics Association

Toronto Film Critics Association

Washington DC Area Film Critics Association

And yet, you will not see Let the Right One In mentioned tonight at the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. No, it hasn't even been nominated. That's because of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' bizarre rules when it comes to foreign flicks. Apparently, the Academy cannot evaluate any movie it chooses when it comes to deciding nominees. Rather, they can only consider the films each nation has deemed worthy of being submitted for consideration. This has caused many worthy films to be excluded over the years, whether it be for political reasons, or because said nation doesn't feel that it wants to be represented by what it deems to be a "lowly genre film".

And so, alas, Sweden did not submit Let the Right One In for consideration, leaving a movie good enough for a Best Picture nomination to be left out in the cold completely. Shame, really.

I don't think it's a stretch at all. Newsweek, AICN and others listed it as their number one pick of the year, ahead of any nominated film. I'm not alone in the opinion that it was one of the best movies of 2008.

I don't think so. I mean, yeah, on the surface it seems like some sort of affirmative action thing, but consider how Eurocentric and lopsided the Academy Awards have always proven themselves to be. Do you not think that, without this rule, France and Sweden would be the only foreign-language nationalities to be wrestling over the yearly Oscar? We likely would never have discovered how interesting movies from Romania and Iran have become.

Wow. I don't think I've ever heard a movie buff say that before. Certainly not in any conversation where the "top" can be inferred to mean the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Awards (or nomination) for achievement in film.

I know it's just a matter of taste, sure, but I'll bet there are more examples we'd agree disproves your statement than ones proving it.

The fact that the current bylaws in film selection barely prevent the Academy from all but ignoring world-wide input in favor of that from predominantly white Christian European nations seems so self-evident that I hardly know how to argue with you about it. Surely you understand that this represents a prejudice, not an indication that Europeans tend to make make superior movies?

If anything, the ability of nations to submit as many films as they like, and/or the ability of Academy members to independently evaluate as many as they desire would theoretically give plenty of other worthy filmmakers from a wider spectrum of nations a chance at nomination.

That's completely true, or it would be in a world as perfect as we wish this one was. What I am afraid of is that, given the ability to submit more European movies, that the academy will choose to nominate more European movies. I have seen very little indication that my pessimism is unwarranted, but I am indeed warmed by your optimism.

What the Academy should do is present an entire new awards show for films produced and first released outside of the US. A whole Foreign Film Oscars (you know, like a winter Olympics). It'd show the rest of the world that we love their movies enough to recognize their actors and directors and supporting casts, writers, special effect, etc. As it is, we only really recognize their titles, and I think the single statuette ends up in a production company office somewhere.

Which horror film *should* be remade?

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I've been fascinated with horror ever since my parents let me watch The Exorcist at 8 years old (what were they thinking??) and I ran up to my bed screaming when Linda Blair's eyes rolled into the back of her head.Although it often gets a bad rap from "mainstream" critics and audiences alike, horror has often been the most creative and vibrant movie genre of all, from Nosferatu to Saw. Some of the finest motion pictures ever made are part of the horror genre, including Frankenstein, Psycho, The Shining and my personal all-time favorite, George Romero's Dawn of the Dead.This blog is the culmination of my 25-year love affair with all things blood and guts--so check back here often for news and opinion on the world of horror. And remember...